So, here's our trip report we did between 17 December 2017 to 24 December 2017

During October 2017 we got our act together and decided to embark on a journey unknown to both of us. This was after I stumbled upon a website called OUTDOOR LEGENDS Camping & Caravan & Fishing and Bush lodges, 2018. I browsed the website, and was looking for a camping site close to the beach, and not too far from Pretoria, Montana.

With the relevant correspondence with a lady called Jenny Koen from Extreme Nature Tours, she got back to me with good news on a stand available which will suit our needs. She said they've got a stand open at Victor’s Camp which was +-1.2km from the beach. This sounded good, and we reserved the spot for one weeks camping.

One week later she contacted me again, and informed me that there was a cancellation at Joel's Camp, which was +-500m from the main beach. Obviously we then opted for that, and secured our booking with a 50% deposit of only R1365.00.

Right... the booking was done. Then i did a bit of homework on the area, and what to expect. All the necessary factors like Crime, Water, Electricity, Fishing, Permits etc. was to be clarified.

Directions

Directions to Joel’s Camp at Bhanga Nek

If you need help on the sand road after eManguzi, ask the local people or call Jenny 082-857 3363.

If traveling from the Gauteng area southwards on the N2, take the JOZINI turnoff left about 50km south of Pongola, at -27.542936, 31.979042

Up over the mountain to Jozini town, at the SODWANA sign, take the left fork which will take you over the dam wall and onto the road towards KwaNgwanase (eManguzi).

The next landmark is the first roundabout at the R22 junction – go straight to KwaNgwanase (eManguzi) at -27.083263, 32.553916

KwaNgwanase (eManguzi) is 22km from here. eManguzi has a well stocked Total garage and other shops.

I strongly suggest that you fill your vehicle with fuel before leaving eManguzi.

If you plan to get permits before proceeding to Bhanga Nek, proceed northwards on the road which leads to the Mozambique border.
About 5km from the Total Garage, heading north, take the RIGHT turn at the brown sign with rhino picture “Kosi Bay Camp” and follow the most used track.
GPS co-ordinates of the camp are: -26.954679, 32.824228

From the KZN camp, backtrack to eManguzi, and turn LEFT at the police emblem sign on the outskirts of town (as though you’re heading back towards Jozini), onto the D1843 at -26.994421, 32.743150

If you do not plan to get permits before proceeding to Bhanga Nek, after you have fuelled up, backtrack on the road you came into town on and turn LEFT onto the D1843 at -26.994421, 32.743150 (The signs are quite small, so keep a good lookout.)

Whether you went to get permits or not, from here follow the same road after +- 1.3km after turning onto the D1843, turn LEFT at the fork with the signs Ukuthula Adventure, Victor’s Camp, Kosi Forest Lodge & Kosi Bay Hippo Lodge, onto the sand road at-27.004541, 32.747503 START TO MEASURE DISTANCE FROM THIS POINT

A short distance later, cross the metal bridge over the Siyadla river, go up the reinforced road beyond the bridge, then take the LEFT at the nearby fork. DO NOT DO NOT DO NOT take the ‘Bay Camp’ and ’Camp 4’ road (this will take you southwards, the complete wrong direction)

From after the bridge you should travel in a North-north Easterly direction. At places there are a few sand tacks in more-or-less the same direction – it’s usually best to follow the most-recently-used one, and basically all roads from here lead to Bhanga Nek.

+-50m further go RIGHT at-27.080860, 32.788467

Next is RIGHT at -27.075858, 32.798670

Then at RIGHT at Manzimnyama sign at-27.055371, 32.827061

Then LEFT at -27.053893, 32.828490

Next sign to note is “God Knows Tuck Shop”. The Tuck Shop will be on the right-hand side of the road – cold beer, etc and cooldrinks available here!! Also sugar, salt etc at -27.041098, 32.841764

Next take LEFT at the fork with KOSI KAY sign at -27.022426, 32.851165

A few meters further ON THE LEFT is the entrance to Joel’s Camp (Ngubane’s Camp, Isinkwe) (Joel’s surname is Ngubane and an Isinkwe is a Bushbaby!!).

THIS IS THE CAMP

General:

• The last 6km to the Kosi Bay KZN Wildlife Office and Camp is on very soft sand, best suited to 4x4 vehicle
KZN Wildlife office hours: Weekdays: 7:00 to 16:00 Saturdays, Sundays & public holidays: 7:00 to 15:00
• Recreational day visitors currently pay R40 per adult, R20 per child and R40 per vehicle to enter the Reserve at the Kosi Mouth entrance. Permits can be bought on the day of your visit or one day in advance. This also applies to permits for Black Rock & Lala Nek which can also be bought from the KZN-Wildlife office at Manzengwenya.
• Visitors to Bhanga Nek require an entry permit obtainable from the Kosi Bay KZN Wildlife Office at the 3rd lake. The current cost is R40 per vehicle, R40 per adult & R20 per child FOR THE DURATION OF YOUR STAY, not per day. There is no entry gate at Bhanga Nek, so if you arrive after the KZN office has closed, please go there the next day to buy your permits.
• Driving on the beach, pets, jet skis, quad bikes, motor bikes, boats using sails, hang gliders and microlights are not allowed
• Gate times to the Kosi Mouth area are 05h00 to 19h00 Oct – Mar, and 06h00 to 18h00 April – Sept
• Legal vehicle access is by the main Kosi gate and Kosi Mouth gate only
• Camping or sleeping overnight is allowed only at recognized camps
• Collection or purchase of firewood, rocks, plants or animals, shells or fish is not allowed
• Fires may be set only in designated places
• Firearms must be kept locked away and not discharged
• Wild animals must not be fed or interfered with in any way
• From 22h00 all noise must be kept to a minimum
• All litter and pollutants must be put in refuse bins or taken away
• Catapults, airguns, insect electrocutors and stone throwing are not allowed
• Recreational visitors only may fish. Ghillies may not fish or collect bait

Fishing
• A valid fishing licence is required for fishing in the lakes and in the ocean, obtainable at Post Offices SA.
• Published fishing size and bag limits apply. Details available at the office
• Cast nets, gill nets, drag nets and spear guns are not allowed anywhere in the Kosi lakes and estuary
• Cracker shrimps may be bought at lakes 1 & 2 or pumped at lakes 1 & 2 if you have a licence
• It is illegal to bring living bait into the reserve or to collect swimming prawns
• Fishing is not allowed in the sanctuaries (just inside Kosi Mouth and to 200m south of the mouth in the estuary
• Fishing into the ocean is not allowed south of the signboard at the southern point of Bhanga Nek bay

Caution:
• Although there have been no serious incidents for some time, please be aware that there are crocodiles, hippo and the occasional shark in the lakes.
• Please use a torch after dark and wear shoes. Snakes are often active after dark as are hippos.
• Malaria is endemic and there have been no known cases for a number of years, but if you become ill after your visit, please inform your doctor of this possibility
• Beware of stonefish inside Kosi Mouth as they can be deadly.
• Please respect the local people and their culture and do not interfere with fish traps or graves.

Some things to bear in mind on your visit to Bhanga Nek

 Access by 4x4 vehicle. Take a spade and a strong plank to put under the jack in case your vehicle sinks into the sand.
 Visitors to Bhanga Nek require an entry permit, obtainable from the Kosi Bay KZN Wildlife Office at the 3rd lake or Manzengwenya. The cost is in the region of R40 per vehicle, R40 per adult & R20 per child FOR THE DURATION OF YOUR STAY, not per day. Beach access does not require a permit.
 There is no entry gate at Bhanga Nek where permits need to be produced, so if you arrive after the KZN office has closed, please go there the next day to obtain your permits. KZN-Wildlife officials do permit spot-checks on the sand road from time to time.
 Take your own drinking water.
 Protect yourself against mozquitos and malaria in the summer months as Bhanga Nek is in a low-risk malaria area but it is said there has not been a known case of malaria for the last 10 years. If you develop flu-like symptoms on your return home, see your doctor immediately and tell him you recently visited a malaria area.
 Beware of hippos and crocodiles near the lake shore at all times and do not disturb the wildlife
 There are no crocs and hippos in the sea
 No littering
 Firearms must be stored safely and not discharged
 No fireworks allowed
 From 22h00 all noise must be kept to a minimum
 Keep your braai fire under control

Seeing that we had to cater for our own drinking water, I had to come up with a plan to keep a household of four(4) people happy. Luckily a person advertised two 55L Grey water tanks on Facebook at a bargain price for R500 (Both). No time was wasted, and we bought them before she could press enter for advertising on other websites.

Planning was done, and i decided to fit one permanently inside the load bin...

No wait, this was the towing vehicle and the trailer:

Right.. Back to the water system:

The other tank I put on top of the roof rack with a hose ant tap to fill the inner tank when empty.

Electricity:

The trailer was fitted with a 98AMP deep cycle battery, which should've been enough for three(3) days at the most. So, i started shopping for Solar options. Eventually I got a 120W Panel from a China Mall in City Depp JHB at a cost of R850.00 (Cheap hey?).
The panel was the fitted under the roof rack for better storage.

The controller unit I bought from the best 4x4 accessory outlet in the world called 4X4Direct.co.za
I also opted for a 1500w inverter, seeing that the nearest shop is a distance of 28km away. This was for the ice machine which was the biggest worry I had for keeping my throat cool.

Another modification done the vehicle was to finalize on the suspension, and again Darrell from Mikem Suspension exceeded my expectations. The bakkie was now fully kitted with Bilstein Shocks and Mikem Leaf Springs.

There was actually a few modifications done to the vehicle and the trailer to comply with the surroundings, but won't go too much into that as this is actually a Trip Report.

To be continued...

Last edited by Bliksempie on Wed Jan 31, 2018 6:08 pm, edited 3 times in total.

When Life knocks you down, make sure you fall on your back. If you can look up, you can get up

I was wondering if you ever got out of the driveway looking at the first lot of photo's LOL

Rules are there to make you think before you break them!!!God made man before
woman so as to give him time
to think of an answer
for her first question.COMMON SENCE IS NOT A GIFT, IT IS A PUNISHMENT!! BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO DEAL WITH EVERYONE WHO DOES NOT HAVE IT!!!

We hit the road. Fully loaded and kids lekker quiet in the back with their own portable DVD players (Purely my initiative)
Middelburg Weigh Bridge they decided to bring me in for the dreaded weigh inn... Guess what, One week's rations, 135L Water, 4 Passengers and much more: We passed. Almost thought of having the first cold one to celebrate.

The N4 route was lekker quiet, and we towed in 4th gear most of the time at 110 km/h. Everything was running as it should, and the DVD players got tuck away and the sinning began.
From the N4 we took the offramp towards Hendrina, which I thought (out of experience) is going to be a bad road due to pot holes and coal trucks. I was actually wrong with that impression, as it was not so bad.

From there we went through Ermelo, Piet Retief (Where we filled up the first time), Pongola and the Jozini. This is where the fun started with my 1997 22R Toyota Hilux. We had to go down to 2nd gear and the top speed was 40km/h.

A beautiful scenic road and suddenly the holiday experience was more a reality to us.

The Jozini dam was clearly low on water as we could see the low level ridges.

From Jozini town, you drive accross the dam wall direction North. This road was also not too bad, except for the amount of traffic heading towards Mozambique (Citizens and holiday fleet). As soon as you turned direction East towards EManguzi, the only thing that was irritating was the cattle and constant speed humps on that route.

Pongola Cattle.jpg (31.66 KiB) Viewed 516 times

We arrived at EManguzi and was amazed by the rush in town. Everyone from Gauteng was to my opinion busy with last minute shopping, and we had to wait a while for refilling at the all famous Total Kosi Bay.

Total Kosi Bay.jpg (31.65 KiB) Viewed 494 times

Refueling was done, and we drove towards KZN Wildlife Manzengwenya office, for our permits to stay in the Bhanga Nek area.
We then went back through EManguzi towards the D1843 Road. In total it's roughly 28 - 30km drive from EManguzi to Bhanga Nek area. The initial gravel road can only be done in one of two manners; 40km/h or 100km/h. Let your spouse put on a sports bra.

Then the fun starts when you take the turnoff towards Bhanga Nek. You can go about 200m before you have to stop and deflate to 0.9bar.

This is where the fun starts. There is no way this route can be taken without a proper TOYOTA 4x4. It took us approximately one and a half hour to complete the last odd 10km. Beautiful but very tuff on concentration. Narrow roads with a few axle twisters along the way.

Almost 12 hours on the road, we arrived safe and sound and met up with the Locals. Joel Ngubane was first to meet with us, and with a hartly welcome we felt at ease. He firstly commented on the fact, as to why i locked my vehicle when i got out and assured me that me and my family is his first priority when it comes to safety. A suitable was spot was identified, and we started with the big task to put up camp.

To be continued...

Last edited by Bliksempie on Wed Jan 31, 2018 5:57 pm, edited 3 times in total.

When Life knocks you down, make sure you fall on your back. If you can look up, you can get up

Visible warning signs were evident, and we had to improvise for the attacks:

And this is the best remedy to keep them away.

Here are some other pictures of the basic but nice facilities:

The local people ensured constant hot water. Even in the rain, they made plan to keep the fire burning.

Fire wood can be purchased from the locals: A bit steep, as a bundle of five(5) pieces will set you back R20.00, and have to be carefully monitored whilst preparing for a braai. When the coals are ready, you cannot pour another drink. It will be too late then.

One thing that I noticed was the amount of Ferrox Cycads in this area. Thousands and thousands could be seen throughout our stay and trips between beaches and points of interests.

Some pictures of the places we visited:

Banga Nek Beach

Kosi Bbay Mouth

Kosi Bay Lake.jpg (19.77 KiB) Viewed 497 times

To be continued...

Last edited by Bliksempie on Wed Jan 31, 2018 6:00 pm, edited 2 times in total.

When Life knocks you down, make sure you fall on your back. If you can look up, you can get up

The road to Black Rock Beach
Definitely a must when visiting the area. Beautiful scenery, and ideal test your vehicle in the thick sand and uphill capabilities when going for the lookout points.

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Black Rock Beach

Black Rock.jpg (14.02 KiB) Viewed 511 times

Lala Nek Beach

Lala Nek.jpg (32.82 KiB) Viewed 511 times

Also a very nice place to visit. Unfortunately the weather was a bit overcast with mist rain when we got there (1.5 Hours drive from Bhanga Nek Campsite). Clear directions were also not in the order of the day, so we got lost at a stage and ventured into the Midlands with no roads in front of us. The GPS luckily gave me the direction to the coast line, and we drove a few kilometers in the area through small villages where there are no roads. And the locals in that area do not understand English

Lost.jpg (22.48 KiB) Viewed 497 times

Lost 2.jpg (23.78 KiB) Viewed 497 times

This was the only time I was worried a bit. We were alone, with no one who accompanied our trip into the unknown. It was only me, my wife and two small daughters. A bit foolish from my side, but luckily we didn't run into any trouble like breakdowns or medical emergencies.

Also with our arrival at the beach, we were the only visitors and there were about 10 Ghillies at the entrance to the beach. This was mainly the reason for a brief stay (One Beer) before i decided to take the road back to Bhanga Beach.

To be continued...

Last edited by Bliksempie on Wed Jan 31, 2018 5:54 pm, edited 4 times in total.

When Life knocks you down, make sure you fall on your back. If you can look up, you can get up

This beauty on top belongs to a guy in Pretoria with the name of Henk. Its a 1989 model with only 60 000km on the clock. He only uses it for his visits to Bhanga Nek. And he's been visiting this area for the past 18 years.

This White Hilux belongs to the Camp owner - Joel Ngubane

And this obviously is mine

Expenses and valuable information

1) Roaming Speed Cameras - 5
2) Fixed Road Blocks - 1 (Just outside Piet Retief)
3) 135L Water was enough for a household of four people for one week
4) 120W Solar Panel was enough for all lights 12V and 2x220V LED tube lights as well as the small Ice Machine
5) Permits are compulsory at all beaches, but only at Black Rock and Kosi Bay mouth they requested to see them on our trip. You cannot get a permit two days before planning to visit a place. Only one day in advance. This is a bit of a bad one, because you have to drive all the way back to Kosi Bay Lodge to get new permits.
6) Total fuel - R 5445.40
7) Toll Gates - R 180.00
8) Accommodation 7 nights - R2730.00
9) Ghillies - R 500.00
10) GPS Trip Report

In a nutshell: A must do for every 4x4 enthusiast who loves camping in the untouched and beautiful coastal areas. If you want to get away from all the concrete and hustle, then this is the place to visit. Do your planning properly and put fear in a box at home.

Some more pictures will be added to this trip report as soon as I can figure out why some don't want to upload.

Thanks for reading
(My apologies for some spelling and grammar errors, as I am actually Pure Afrikaans)

Bliksempie and Family

When Life knocks you down, make sure you fall on your back. If you can look up, you can get up